Chapter 18: The Beginning of the End
Eveline didn't know what to expect when it came to experiencing someone's memories. To her knowledge, only Queen Diane and King Harlequin had ever done it before, and they underwent a unique experience of becoming the memory incarnations of their predecessors, experiencing everything first-hand. Surely, Mael thought better than to try that.
Regardless, Eveline could feel her astral form beckoning her to wake up.
Her eyes fluttered open rather easily. Above her, she saw the stony ceilings of her family's castle in Liones. She rolled her head to the side, the thick curtains and tapestries that decorated the throne room were just as she remembered them.
She began to push herself up into a sitting position, taking in the room as she did so. No one was present at the moment but seeing as she woke up there, she expected someone to arrive soon.
As she looked around the room, she noted that she was alone, which upset her slightly. She had hoped that she might be able to experience this with Midoriya by her side, much like Diane did with Harlequin.
"I believe we've found the princess, my queen." Eveline perked up as she heard a crowd approach the throne room's doors.
"Where is she?!" Came the frantic response. Eveline recognized the voice of her mother as her father's voice followed.
"Elizabeth," he spoke in a low voice, trying to soothe his desperate wife. "Evie can't be in any serious trouble, she's too smart for that."
The doors opened, revealing Meliodas with his wife, Elizabeth, leaning against him while Mael and an unknown knight followed the royal couple. Eveline couldn't remember her parents ever appearing as professional and regal as they did right now. Her father typically spent his day with a mug of booze and her mother in his direct line of sight. Even the dark look in his eyes seemed so unnatural for him. Her mother, the serious one of the two, looked like an organized mess, her gown as immaculate as Eveline remembered but her long hair looked windswept and her eyes swollen and restless. It felt wrong to see her mother this way.
"She and Zelda are in another world," Mael explained, mostly focusing his attention on the king as opposed to the weeping queen. "Merlin located them and can help us get them."
Meliodas nodded, "Are they together?"
Mael shook his head, "I'm afraid not, but they are near each other."
Elizabeth didn't like that answer and began to gear up for a fit. Luckily, Meliodas stopped her by promising that Eveline and Zelda would be home with the next twenty-four hours. "Mael, will you and Sir Draven fetch them?"
Sir Draven? Eveline mused, perplexed as she never heard of a Sir Draven before.
Mael nodded and Sir. Draven expressed no complaints on the matter. In fact, he was eager to have this matter dealt with a swiftly as possible. "I will inform Lady merlin of the plan so she may be ready for us."
Sir Draven left, leaving Mael with Eveline's parents to speak in private. Eveline wasn't expecting to hear anything of major importance this early in the memories, and yet.
"Guinevere sent them there," Mael stated rather coldly, a total contrast to how he acted when the knight was present. "Why isn't she being punished for this? It's clear she is trying to get rid of Eveline."
Elizabeth spoke up, clearly angry at Mael's accusation. "Guinevere wouldn't do such a thing, she's just as distraught as everyone else!"
Mael glared that the woman he adored, Eveline could see the tension between them as he bit back a response. He didn't believe a word Elizabeth said.
"What proof do you have?" Meliodas asked calmly.
Elizabeth gasped and turned on her husband, demanding to know if he believed this nonsense. "Guinevere wouldn't do this."
Meliodas smiled at his wife, amused by her tears. "Maybe she wouldn't, but Mael wouldn't say that unless he had a reason for believing it."
Elizabeth still argued, frustrating Mael and Eveline. How was her mother so blind to Guinevere's nefarious side? The mental picture of the lovely Elizabeth Liones that Eveline grew up with was tainted.
Eventually, even Meliodas couldn't handle Elizabeth and offered to drop the matter so long as Elizabeth left him and Mael to discuss how they will be getting Eveline and Zelda. Naturally, Elizabeth didn't want to drop the subject, but with enough urging from her husband, she eventually left them. They could tell that she was still fuming, perhaps even thinking of going to her second child and asking her about the matter directly. Meliodas could only hope that someone might stop her along the way.
"She's in denial," Meliodas made his way to the large doors that Elizabeth had left opened, gently closing them. "Listen, we need to get Eveline back as soon as possible."
"I'll do my best," Mael nodded before falling silent. Eveline noticed his brows furrowing, indicating to her that he was thinking about something.
Meliodas also noticed this and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"I suppose," Mael admitted, though both Eveline and her father could tell that he wasn't sure if he should speak. The melancholic expression of the goddess worried them.
Midoriya's head throbbed, his body felt heavy and sore. It was as if he had done several rounds against Bakugo. Even so, he woke up with ease and sat up quickly. The last thing he remembered was that he was listening to Zelda insult Eveline. After that, he was drawing blanks.
Did something happen? He was certain that something happened after that. Did he do something?
Midoriya looked around, the place he was in was unlike anywhere he had been back home. However, it was very reminiscent of Merlin's study. The woodwork and stone were eerily familiar, though he was sure that her study was little bigger than this.
Maybe it's a different room, He thought to himself as he moved to his feet. For me to be here…did Eveline drink it? Must have.
Midoriya realized right away that Eveline wasn't with him and he wasn't sure if he was okay with that. He assumed they would experience Mael's memories together, it just made sense to him.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Midoriya jumped as the doors opened and Merlin and Mael entered the room. They walked right past him, in fact, he was sure that Mael clipped through him a bit.
So, they can't see me? Midoriya approached the two, waving his hand in front of their face to see if he got a reaction. When he got nothing, he decided to explore the room whilst keeping an ear out for important information. He wasn't too sure when these events were taking place, but he had an inkling he was witnessing events during Eveline's absence as a child.
"We're out of options at this point," Merlin said as she motioned her hand, a flying eye creature appeared out of thin air with a whooshing noise following it. Midoriya turned as was rightfully weirded out by the creature. "With this, we should be able to see other worlds without wasting too much time."
Mael appeared to still be apprehensive about the scheme. "Still, it seems impossible for Guinevere to do this. Is that kind of power even possible for her age?"
Merlin smiled, though Midoriya felt that it lack the ever-present cockiness that he grew cautious of. If he were to hazard a guess, he'd say that she was feeling a bit guilty. "It is, but it had to have taken a toll on her. That's why I believe she did it. Don't you remember what happened when the news broke?"
Mael nodded, "I do. She refused to come out of her room and her maids said she had been ill three days before the announcement."
"Exactly," Merlin rummaged around the room, gathering supplies and organizing everything she'd need. "And remember who taught her magic. Me."
Again, Mael nodded though he didn't speak.
"She must have forgotten that she's not like me. She doesn't have infinity, so opening a dimensional portal with pure magic was going to cost her," Merlin set up a miniature version of the machine they had used weeks ago, it's rough construction implied that this was the first or one of the first designs of it. "Luckily, I think I know the world she dumped the girls in. I practiced with it a few times already."
"Are you sure?"
Merlin nodded, "Powerful as she is, she's still a child. Finding a new world would have added too much strain and probably would have killed her."
Mael didn't seem to have much faith in Merlin's idea, but he made no other attempt to stop her. Midoriya figured that they must have really been out of other alternatives at this point. He did wonder about Guinevere's relationship with Merlin. He didn't know that Guinevere had been Merlin's pupil once, but with that bit of context, he understood why the dimensional machine had to be destroyed. Guinevere couldn't make a portal without it, if she did, she'd be endangering herself. But the only person with the design knowledge was Merlin, which was also why the former Sin of Gluttony was under strict surveillance when he was there.
It was actually very interesting to see how Merlin operated. Once the eyed creature when through the portal, what it saw was projected onto a large crystal ball. It also communicated to Merlin through it, telling her what was going on and warning her if it couldn't go somewhere. It was fascinating and Midoriya couldn't resist wondering if something like this could be used to aid heroes.
It took some time before Merlin found Eveline. As expected, Guinevere sent Eveline and Zelda to Midoriya's world, the world that Merlin had discovered and been investigating for some time. From what Midoriya could tell, Merlin was especially targeting Musutafu, which he could only assume was because a lot of Pro-Heroes worked in the city.
They found Eveline playing in a park with Midoriya and Bakugo. Midoriya leaned closer toward the crystal ball; that park was the same one from the picture Bakugo had. That meant they found her the day he and Bakugo met her.
"She looks well," Mael remarked softly, clearly relieved to see the princess was in good company. "But where is Zelda?"
Merlin had the creature search around the park, hoping to find the vampire princess but to no avail. "I wonder if they got separate when they went through."
Mael nodded, "Looks like."
Midoriya backed away from the two. He thought back to when Bakugo first showed him the picture of Eveline. To his knowledge, Zelda had been mentioned, but he was sure that no one had told him that Zelda was missing during this time as well.
"Hopefully," Mael sighed as Merlin sent the creature off to look for the other girl. "she's not too far away and is in good hands as well."
Midoriya hoped for the same.
Eveline watched as her parents and grandfather argued with each other. Mael and Merlin stood off to the side while she laid unconscious, almost lifeless in fact. What had happened to her wasn't shown to her, and rightly so; the argument alone was enough to horrify her.
"You tore her demon half out of her," Bartra cried, his cheeks flushed with rage and his bitter tears faded into his beard. "and put it into that boy you found her with! How can you do such a thing?"
Elizabeth tried to soothe her father, but he was having none of it. "Father, it was necessary. Without it, she poses less of a threat to Guinevere."
"That boy will die," Bartra screamed, "and even if he manages to live, that kind of power in a human is devasting. Graces can kill a human, but demonic power? He'd go mad!"
Elizabeth retracted from her father, a guilty look was written on her face. "I understand, but if we didn't-"
"Then Guinevere would try to get rid of Eveline again," Meliodas finished for his wife. He was equally solemn about what they had done to her. "I hate what we've done, especially since that boy was so happy to something for Eveline, but it had to be done."
Eveline felt her knees shake. She thought back to what happened in the infirmary. That power within Midoriya was hers, and it had been put there by her parents to protect her from her sister. And worst of all, Midoriya agreed to it!
He didn't understand what they were doing to him, Eveline's inner voice cried, and he did it because…because…
"When Eveline finds out," Bartra warned, "she'll never forgive you."
Meliodas' expression darkened, "No, she won't." Meliodas turned toward Mael, nodding his head.
Eveline watched as Mael, unwillingly approached her body, extending his hand out to the king. At first, neither Eveline nor her grandfather understood what was happening, but it became clear to her that this was why she had no memory of Midoriya. A paper was put into Mael's hand, tied in a ribbon.
"Take this to Gowther," her father ordered, "tell him to be here as soon as he can."
It seemed that Mael, wasn't fully expecting these orders, but he would carry them out regardless.
"You can't," Bartra's voice trembled, he fell to his knees. It was almost as if he were begging the gods. "you can't do this to her!"
"I can," Meliodas said, "And I will. From this day onward, I will do everything to protect my daughter. We are leaving for the Demon Realm. Liones is yours again."
Eveline's eyes grew wide. I th-…I thought we left because father… The betrayal that ran through her was too much to bear. They didn't leave the earthy realm because of Meliodas' powers, they left because of her. Her hand clenched at her heart, a desperate urge to rip it out of her chest nearly consumed her.
The link between her and Midoriya was due to her power being within him. Though she didn't see it, she could only assume that his memories were erased before hers. After all, he was nowhere to be seen.
Thoughts of Midoriya crept into her mind. He had been so kind to her; he supported her and gave her the utmost respect and consideration he could. To know that he had, in essence, a ticking time bomb within because of her. Because her sister hated her for whatever reason.
He was going to die if her powers stayed within him. Even if he didn't use them, even if he could go about life never learning that it was there, it would have destroyed him in due time. His world revolved around battles, some of which could be dangerous to the extent of life-threatening. Her powers would have awakened. It was by pure chance that they awakened now.
This is why we could communicate telepathically, and how come I could enter his body, Eveline realized with horror, as much as I hate myself for what happened, I have to get my powers back. I can't let him die.
The memory around her faded, a growing determination filled her along with unbearable grief. Her parents set this nightmare in motion, they burdened others with their inability to act. They should have dealt with Guinevere when they had the chance, but their mistakes now fell on her and her friends. As much as it pained to know that she was at the core of this suffering, Guinevere too held the reigns.
It was time Eveline did something for herself and against the sister who didn't want her.
Midoriya always wondered what it was like to see himself as a child. In the past, it was because he wondered if he could see any potential in himself through the eyes of another. Now, he wished to not see how innocent and gullible he was. He watched as he, a mere child, pleaded with Mael to not take Eveline away from him. Eveline wasn't too happy about leaving him either, she cowered behind his mother, clinging to her skirt as he tried to push Mael away.
"She doesn't want to go back!" he cried.
Mael seemed to pity them both, as his outstretched arms receded. However, he couldn't be deterred. "Eveline has to go back, this isn't her home."
"But," Eveline whimpered from behind Mrs. Midoriya, "if I go back, Guinevere will hurt me."
Mael reacted to that statement with both surprise and guilt. There was no doubt that Guinevere would harm Eveline. "It'll be okay, Guinevere won't lay a hand on you."
Neither Midoriya nor Eveline believed Mael, but the goddess was determined to take Eveline. Even if by force. Midoriya waited, expecting Mael to just shove him and his mother aside, but the scene, except for Mael, froze in place.
"Merlin?" Mael turned, almost outraged to see the sorceress there.
"Forgive me," Merlin sighed, her own expression was twisted with guilt as she outstretched her arm toward the trio. "but I have orders to fulfill. As a Sin."
Merlin's magic washed over young Midoriya, his mother, and Eveline. Midoriya couldn't quite comprehend what she was doing, but he figured that she was erasing their memories. However, he quickly realized that there was more to this than he expected.
"What are you doing?" Mael demanded, he wanted to stop her but didn't know how to stop her without hurting the three before him. Interrupted magic could be as harmful as a fatal wound.
"We'll be taking that boy with us," Merlin stated with little emotion, "they've made a deal with Guinevere."
A/N: I have managed to post this Saturday! However, I am a little behind so I think I might not post next Saturday so I can have enough chapters done in advance.
